Keeping Teenagers Safe from the Dangers of the World
The other day, I settled myself into a comfortable chair in the living room and opened another Australian novel. (You might know that I’m working my way through a list of 50 Must Read books.) But before I could read more than a page or two, the rest of my family appeared.
“What are you doing, Mum?”
“Is it coffee time?”
“Shall I fill the kettle?”
Soon we were drinking coffee and talking together, and my book was forgotten. The conversation turned to my last podcast, Resolutions, Reading, Writing and Coarse Language
“I’ve been thinking about what I said in that podcast. Do you think I was wrong?” I asked my children. “Should I look at every book before letting you read them? Is it wrong to trust you? Perhaps I’m an irresponsible mother. Maybe I’m not keeping you safe from the dangers of the world.”
Opinions flew back and forth across the living room. Everyone had something to say. I had a very lively discussion with my teenagers and young adults.
“It would be really good if I could record some of this conversation,” I said. “You all have some very interesting things to say. How about I interview a couple of you for this week’s podcast?”
So that’s what I did. I interviewed Imogen (20) and Charlotte (17) and asked them for their opinions on keeping children safe from the dangers of the world, including inappropriate books, computer usage, movies, emails etc.
These are some of the points we touched on:
Is the world a dangerous place for young people?
Is spying on a child justified?
Does policing children’s activities really keep them safe?
Could it damage the child/parent relationship?
Is there another way of keeping children safe?
Can children be trusted to make the right decisions?
How do they know what is appropriate and inappropriate?
Am I irresponsible? Do I just let my kids do whatever they want? Or is there more to it than that?
You might not agree with my opinions or those of my children. You might even think I’m a bit weird. That’s okay. I think parents have to do what they feel is right for their own families. That’s what we’re doing. But you could have other ideas. Perhaps you’re doing things differently. And that’s okay too!
Show Notes
Blog posts about trusting children to make the right choices
The ‘Risky’ Business of Trusting Children
Can we give a child the freedom to choose but at the same time be confident they will make the right choices?
Imposing Rules on Children: Is There a Better Way?
But do rules really teach children right from wrong? Or do they teach children how to avoid punishment? Could it be that the motivation to behave a certain way is coming from outside a child, and not from within?
Guiding My Children Responsibly Without Imposing Rules
We don’t make rules in our family, so how do my children know what is right and what is wrong, if they aren’t guided by clearly stated limits?
Related Podcast
Resolutions, Reading, Writing and Coarse Language
Music
I didn’t talk specifically about music this week, but I did use a small snippet of a piece by Podington Bear to separate segments of my podcast. If you’d like to listen to the full piece of music, here are the details:
By Grace by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
(Isn’t Podington Bear a great name?)